Not Your Average Muggles
by Enasni Reverof
Summary: HP/YGO Xover - Harry & co. take a trip to Domino and end up helping the Japanese Ministry of Magic track down the cause of several
1. The Letter

Um... Hi. This my first attempt at a Harry Potter/Yu-Gi-Oh! crossover, and I think the idea's pretty original... I'm pretty used to writing in script format, but I think I did a pretty good job on this chap... *cough, cough*  
  
Anyway, this takes place after the Order of the Phoenix, but there're really aren't any spoilers in this chap if you haven't finished reading it... And I need info on what happened during and after Battle City. I REFUSE to go by what 4kids says! If worse comes to worse, I can go look it up for myself, but it would be SO much easier if you could give me a nice, simple summery free of large words and complex sentences (lol, J/K)!  
  
Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own either YGO or HP. This goes for the rest of the fic, okay? And now... on with the fic!  
  
Not Your Average Muggles  
  
Chapter 1 - The Letter  
  
Dear Mr. Potter,  
We regret to in form that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been closed due to circumstances beyond our control. We feel that, because of the Dark Lord's resurrection, we need as many witches and wizards available. Therefore, there will not be anyone left to teach and look after you and your fellow students. Also, as our newest member of the School Governors pointed out, Hogwarts fails to be completely safe due to the fact that the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, will be away on Ministry business for long periods of time.  
Hogwarts shall be reopened as soon as possible.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Gregory Thomas  
  
MINISTRY OF MAGIC  
  
Once again, Harry reread the letter; hoping he had just imagined what it had said. It was useless, though. No matter how many times he read the letter it wouldn't change the horrifying message it disclosed.  
  
Hogwarts was closed. He wouldn't be going back to it. And Voldemort was running around free. He knew the Dark Lord couldn't touch him here, but still... What about Ron and his family? What about Hermione? What about all the other friends he had in the wizarding world? Were they safe?  
  
A thumping noise coming down the hall informed him that his cousin, Dudley, was awake. He rolled over in his bed so that he was facing the clock on his bedside table. Eight forty-five. That was funny. What was Dudley doing up so early? Harry himself would still be asleep if it wasn't for the official- looking screech owl that had woken him up at seven thirty to deliver it's depressing letter...  
  
Harry lazily rolled of his bed and onto his feet. He pulled on a worn shirt and a pair of jeans and made his why down to the kitchen without bothering to brush his hair (it wouldn't have made much of a difference).  
  
When he entered the kitchen his Aunt Petunia was busy making a bigger and fattier breakfast than Dudley was usually allowed and Uncle Vernon was trying in vain to arrange the mound of presents on the table so that he could fit his plate on it. Dudley was gazing at the gifts like they were a giant, iced chocolate cookie.  
  
Harry blinked.  
  
"Well?" his uncle barked over the mountain of wrapped packages. "Aren't you going to wish your cousin a happy birthday?"  
  
"Happy birthday, Dudley," Harry mumbled. 'Of course,' he thought. 'It's the pig's birthday. 'The letter had driven all thoughts of his life with the Dursleys out of mind.  
  
"I can't hear you," Dudley stated with a malicious look on his face.  
  
"Happy birthday." Harry said a bit louder.  
  
"I still can't hear you," Dudley replied, a huge evil grin on his face.  
  
"Happy birthday!" Harry cried in mock cheerfulness.  
  
"What was that?" Dudley asked as he made room for the plate full of sausages, bacon, eggs, and toast his mother was offering him.  
  
"I SAID HAPPY BIRTH DAY, YOU DEAF MORON!!" Petunia smacked him with her spatula.  
  
"That's no way for you to be speaking to Dudley on his special day," she snapped.  
  
"Sorry," Harry muttered, not really meaning it.  
  
He ate his breakfast in silence; completely oblivious to the presents his cousin was opening at seventy miles per hour, the constant singing of "Happy Birthday" from his tone-deaf aunt, and the "Wait a go, Duddy!"s from his uncle. All he could think of was the letter lying on his bed. How could they close Hogwarts? How?  
  
~*~  
  
"Look! Another one!" Katsuya Jounouchi pointed to a kid, about eight years old, standing under a tree with a duel disk II on his arm. "Why did Kaiba release those to the public? WHY?!"  
  
"Well," His friend, Anzu Mazaki, reasoned, "I guess it was to help pay for Battle City. I mean, that must have taken a huge chunk out of his money--"  
  
"That jerk's too rich as it is!" Jounouchi yelled.  
  
"Calm down, Jou," Hiroto Honda placed a hand on the blond boy's shoulder. "It's not like it matters how much richer Kaiba is than you."  
  
Anzu looked down at her watch and sighed. "Where is Yugi?!" She, Jounouchi, Honda, and Yugi had planned on meeting in Domino Park at eleven forty-five and then going to Burger World for lunch (Anzu got a discount there because she was an employee). It was now a quarter past noon.  
  
"Ah, don't fret, Anzu," Jounouchi reassured her. "His grampa probably wants him to sweep the shop or something. He'll show up eventually."  
  
~*~  
  
Yugi drummed his fingers impatiently on the counter at the Kame Game Shop. His grandfather had gone out, refusing to say where and why, and left him in charge of the shop. He had promised to be back by eleven thirty so that Yugi could meet his friends, but Mr. Mutou hadn't come back yet. He was late. Really late.  
  
//Aibou,// came a voice in the back of his head, //at the rate things are going, I doubt you're going to see your Grandpa or a customer any time soon. Why don't you just leave?//  
  
//Yami,// Yugi answered, //Are you trying to get me grounded?//  
  
Yugi's darker self chuckled, //No. I guess you grandfather would - how would you say it?- flip out if he came home and you weren't there.//  
  
//Exactly.//  
  
A few minutes passed in which Yugi stared blankly at the door to the game shop. Then someone came in...  
  
...And Yugi nearly had a heart attack.  
  
The person, a boy in his late teens, smirked at Yugi (who had fallen off the stool he was sitting on) and said, "Really, now. I thought you would be happier to see me."  
  
Yugi blushed. "Gomen. You just... startled me."  
  
The boy raised an eyebrow. "I startled you? Does everyone who walks into this shop startle you?"  
  
Yugi shook his head. "Iie. It's just that I was sort of zoned out... and then you just... appeared."  
  
"I did not 'just appear', Yugi Mutou!" The boy answered in mock outrage.  
  
Yugi laughed and then asked, "So, what brings you to Japan, Malik?"  
  
~*~  
  
"Guys! I see him! HE'S ALIVE!" Honda whooped as he and his friends watched a small figure with - er -original hair run towards them.  
  
"And there's someone with him," Jounouchi added. "Who is that?" Anzu squinted at the taller figure. As the two boys came closer she gasped, "Him!"  
  
"Who?" Jounouchi and Honda asked.  
  
"Malik Ishtar."  
  
"What ?!"  
  
"What's he doing in Japan?" Jounouchi asked. "I thought he was busy reeking havoc in Egypt--"  
  
Anzu kicked him. "Really, Jou. He's actually very nice, and you know it."  
  
"I didn't mean it in a bad way, Anzu," Jounouchi whined as he rubbed his ankle, "I just meant--"  
  
"Hey, guys!" Yugi ran up to them. "Guess who's moved to Japan for the year?"  
  
"Malik?"  
  
"Yup," the Egyptian answered, giving them a small bow in greeting. "Isis too."  
  
"Really?" Anzu inquired. "May I ask why?"  
  
Malik shrugged. "The museum heard we had added a few things to our exhibit and since it was such a big hit last time they really wanted us back. They were practically on their knees begging and the neighbors were kinda tired of having pranks played on them constantly... so here I am." He grinned.  
  
"Well," Yugi started, "wanna come to Burger World with us? Ryou said he might turn up."  
  
"Ry... ou?" Malik looked confused.  
  
"Bakura," Jounouchi informed him. "The other him is Bakura now. We're not sure how that happened."  
  
"It probably had something to do with Yami having a sort of unofficial name," Yugi explained. "You know him... He doesn't like Yami being better than him in any way..."  
  
Malik let this sink in for a moment, then, "Well, let's go! I wanna see how Bakur- Ryou is doing!"  
  
~*~  
  
Aunt Petunia yelped as an extremely small owl popped out of what seemed to be nowhere and dropped a letter on top of Harry's dinner. "Pig!" Harry half- yelled.  
  
"That's an owl," Dudley corrected stupidly.  
  
"No, no, that's his name," Harry said, "He belongs to my friend Ron..." He trailed of, realizing how stupid it was to explain his social life to the Dursleys. "I'll go then." He stood up and left the kitchen, his uncle's glare following him.  
  
As he mounted the stairs, Harry fumbled with the letter, trying to open it from the sticky fingers he had as a result of the greasy French fries he had been eating (along with burgers, Dudley's favorite meal).  
  
He managed to get the letter open as he entered his room and flopped down on his bed to read. No doubt it had been written in a hurry; Ron's handwriting was worse then usual. He whipped a bit of ketchup he had gotten on it and began to read...  
  
Harry,  
We're going to Japan. You, me, Hermione, dad, Fred, and George are going to Japan. Don't ask. I'll tell you about it tomorrow when we pick you up. We don't care what the muggles say; you're going. Don't worry about You- Know-Who; Dumbledore reckons he doesn't have enough power to make it to Japan yet and he doesn't have any Death Eaters to spare.  
The Ministry's crazy to shut down Hogwarts. Dumbledore's even crazier to let them do it.  
Remember: we're picking you up at noon tomorrow to take you to Japan. No questions.  
  
Ron  
  
Harry stared at the paper. Japan? Why Japan? And what did Ron mean Dumbledore let the Ministry close Hogwarts? The fates just loved throwing mysteries at him... 


	2. Floo Powder

Hiya! I'm ba-aaa-ack! ^_^  
  
Bakura: *sarcastically* We're all SO happy.  
  
*Kicks Bakura* Go away! Anyway, thank you for all the reviews! *Passes out cookies to reviewers*  
  
Bakura: You might want to watch it with those; Enasni is infamous for leaving to sugar out of her cookies.  
  
Oh, shut up! Anyway, I got Duelist Kingdom subtitled on DVD today. I'm even going to START on how bad the subtitles are... (BEWD is now the Green Eyes White Dragon!) -_-;; Be glad the subtitles call Mai "phoenix" or I won't have even THOUGHT to update this. (I thought of Harry Potter.)  
  
Anyway, chapter 3 will be the "big explanation" chapter, so don't be surprised if it's a little short. And now... On with the fic!  
  
Not Your Average Muggles  
  
Chapter 2 - Floo Powder  
  
"You-WHAT?!" Uncle Vernon stared at his nephew.  
  
"The Weasleys are going to pick me up to go to Japan in three hours," Harry answered calmly. Vernon stared at him, trying to comprehend what he had just said. After all, you usually hear that your nephew is going to Japan a little further in advance.  
  
"You- they-huh?" Vernon's purple face was becoming purpler. "You mean those weird-os with red hair? No-definitely not. I'm NOT having my son grow a frog's tongue again! You just tell those-those- those FREAKS you're not going!"  
  
"Can't," Harry said simply. "They'll be here before my owl gets to them."  
  
"You-aren't-GOING!" Vernon huffed, drawing himself up to his full height, eyes bulging.  
  
"Need I remind you of what happened at King's Cross just a few weeks ago?"  
  
Vernon paled and sat down numbly. Harry guessed he was having sudden, horrible mental images of Mad-Eye Moody.  
  
"Dear, what's wrong?" Aunt Petunia had entered the room.  
  
"The boy... Japan..." Vernon mumbled, apparently still having terrifying daydreams of full-grow wizards.  
  
"What about HIM," She jabbed her head in Harry's direction, "and Japan?"  
  
"He's... going..." Vernon managed to choke out.  
  
Petunia paled as Dudley shuffled into the room, "He's going to Japan?" The large teen asked. "Mum, can I go to Japan? Malcolm reckons you can buy a duel disk at almost any store there."  
  
Petunia turned, starry-eyed, to her son, "Maybe for Christmas, Duddykins..."  
  
Leave it to Dudley to feel the need to visit Japan simply to buy the latest Duel Monsters' gizmo. Harry himself didn't really understand the game, but then again, all he had ever seen of it was his cousin trading cards and those magazines he had that always seemed to be about some Yugi Mutou kid and some guy named Seto Kaiba... As for as Harry could tell, Dudley only got the magazines so he could, unbeknown by his parents, cut out picture of some female duelist named Mai (Harry couldn't remember her last name) and add them to a scrapbook he was keeping of her.  
  
The Dursleys filed out of the living room. Harry settled himself on the coach and focused on the clock. Two hours, fifty-three minutes until the Weasleys' arrival...  
  
~*~  
  
"You're going out? Again?" Yugi whined as he was left in charge of the Kame Game Shop.  
  
"Yes, Yugi, again." Mr. Mutou chuckled. "I shouldn't be too long."  
  
"That's what you said last time!" the short teen called after his grandfather as he left the store. "And you didn't come back for three hours..." The golden pyramid dangling around his neck glowed dimly as his darker half, nicknamed "Yami," appeared beside him. He was slightly faded around the edges and you could see right through him to the display behind, but it was the best physical form he could take, seeing as he was a 5,000- year-old ancient Egyptian spirit.  
  
"You don't suppose," the pharaoh pondered out loud, "that he could have a lady friend?"  
  
Yugi wrinkled his nose, "Is that possible at that age?"  
  
Yami shrugged. "Well, look at me. I'm a couple thousand years older than him and I bet I could get a date if I wanted to..."  
  
"Hai," Yugi agreed, "but you don't look a day over seventeen."  
  
"True, true..." There was a bell in the background, indicating someone had entered the shop, and the spirit retreated back into the puzzle just in time as a young boy strolled up to the counter.  
  
"Do you have duel disks?" the boy asked.  
  
Yugi nodded. "They're right over there," he said, pointed out several moderately large boxes toward the back of the shop.  
  
"Arigato," the boy answered briefly before wondering over there.  
  
//Those sure are going fast,// Yami observed.  
  
//Yeah... I hope we get our next shipment soon.//  
  
~*~  
  
BANG!  
  
Harry jerked awake. "Where's the fire?" he muttered incoherently. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and stared at the blurry image of Mr. Weasley in the fireplace.  
  
"Good day, Harry!" the balding man asked cheerily. "Dozed off, I see?"  
  
"Uh... yeah," Harry rubbed his eyes and looked toward the clock. A quarter past noon.  
  
"Ron'll be here soon," Mr. Weasley informed Harry as he stepped out of the fireplace. He didn't act fast enough, though, as his youngest son came crashing down on top of him.  
  
"Argh-Dad? Is that you?" Ron Weasley, covered with soot, scooted off of his father. "Aren't you always telling US not to stand in the fire to long, especially when you're excepting someone to come after you?"  
  
Mr. Weasley looked sheepish as he stood and moved out of the fireplace. "Yes... well-I say! What is THAT?" Harry blinked as Mr. Weasley, acting as though Christmas had come early, began to examine a digital clock on the side table. "My! It tells time, doesn't it? Extraordinary! It runs on elekticity, I see..."  
  
"Dad," Ron moaned, "This isn't the time or place--"  
  
He was cut off by a scream.  
  
Aunt Petunia, armed with a duster and ready to wage war against the nonexistent dust, had just entered the room. Obviously not used to having strange and soot-covered people in her ordinary and spotless house, Petunia eyes bugged out and her face turned an unnatural shade of green and began to open and close her mouth making odd noises. She looked amazing like a fish.  
  
Uncle Vernon rushed in closely followed by Dudley, "What is it dear?"  
  
Petunia, still doing her fish impression, pointed at Mr. Weasley. Vernon turned purple.  
  
"YOU!" He bellowed, "HOW DARE YOU COME BACK TO MY HOUSE AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO MY SON!"  
  
"He didn't do it," Harry retorted defensively. "Besides, you KNEW he was coming--"  
  
"AND WHERE ARE YOUR DEVIL BOYS?!" Uncle Vernon, ignoring his nephew, screamed, "I SUPPOSE THEY'RE GOING TO BE POPPING OUT OF MY FIREPLACE SOON?"  
  
Dudley's hand automatically went to his mouth at the mention of the Weasley twins as though he thought it would stop him from eating any sweets that were spilled onto the floor.  
  
"Fred and George have decided to stay behind this time," Mr. Weasley explained to Vernon, whose face was becoming darker by the second.  
  
"Yeah, right," Ron murmured in Harry's ear, "Mum made them stay home because of what happened last time. Let's go." He added loudly, dragging his father away from Vernon (whose head now resembled a large plum) and the digital clock. He pulled a pouch of what Harry guessed was floo powder from his father's belt and turned to the fireplace.  
  
"Wait," Said Mr. Weasley, placing his hand on Ron's shoulder, "Harry needs to say good bye."  
  
Harry, a bit annoyed, answered, "I really don't care, Mr. Weas--"  
  
"Good bye," Vernon cut in hurriedly. Apparently, he didn't want to leave the wizards any time to do something to him or his family. He nudged his wife and son who both gave a short good bye (Dudley's slightly muffled by his hand).  
  
"'Bye." Harry answered just as, if not more, shortly.  
  
Mr. Weasley beamed at them at them as though they had just settled a sixty- year feud and took a pinch of floo powder from the pouch in Ron's hand. "Well, that settles it then." He pointed his wand at the fireplace and a fire roared to life (Aunt Petunia nearly fainted). He then dropped the powder into it and stepped into the now green flames. "THE BURROW!" He yelled and disappeared.  
  
"I'll go with your stuff," Ron offered as he threw some powder into the fire. He lunged the trunk (which Harry had brought down earlier) into the fire, handed the bag of floo powder to Harry, and was gone as soon as "THE BURROW!" left his lips.  
  
Harry dropped some floo powder into the fire and gave his family one last look before stepping in and yelling, "THE BURROW!"  
  
He just managed to hear his aunt squeak, "You didn't tell me he was leaving TODAY!" before he found himself zooming through the floo powder network. He caught glimpses of wizards and witches in to rooms he flew past and had a very hard time trying not to laugh at what he could have sworn was a wizard who had somehow set his hair on fire and looked remarkably like a character on some Japanese cartoon Dudley liked to watch.  
  
Just as Harry was wondering whether having breakfast that morning was wise, he felt his feet land crash against something hard and solid, sending a sharp tingling sensation through them. He put out a hand to steady himself as he stepped out of the Burrow's fireplace. Next thing he knew, everything had gone pink.  
  
"So glad to see you, Harry!" said Mrs. Weasley as she seemingly attempted to crush the young wizard's rib cage.  
  
"Mum! You're going to suffocate him!" Ron's slightly embarrassed voice somehow made it through the pair of chubby arms engulfing Harry.  
  
"So sorry, dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she released him, straightening her bright pink apron.  
  
"'S okay," Harry mumbled as he pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose.  
  
"Moshi moshi, Harry!" The boy in question turned to see two completely identical boys grinning at him.  
  
"We're practicing our Japanese," One of them explained (Harry was pretty sure it was George).  
  
"It's coming along quite nicely," Fred added. Ginny, who was standing right next to them, rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, except for 'moshi moshi' is hello OVER THE PHONE."  
  
"They have different was for saying hello over the phone?" George looked astounded.  
  
"That's it," sighed Fred, "Japanese is impossible to learn. We're sticking to the JELIs."  
  
"Jelis?" Harry asked curiously.  
  
"Japanese-English Language Interpreters," Mr. Weasley, who had just come in from the kitchen, informed him. "Come on, lunch is ready."  
  
~*~  
  
"Sir," A small, bald man squeaked as he entered the musty room. "Sir, I have news."  
  
"Of the Potter boy?" came a cold, harsh voice from the shadows.  
  
"Yes, my lord," answered the small man, his voice rather high.  
  
"Well? What is it?" snapped the harsh voice.  
  
"He's... he's..."  
  
"Yes? Finish your sentence!"  
  
"He's to be l-leaving for Japan t-t-tomorrow, my lord," the bald man stuttered and covered his head with his hands, one of which was missing a finger, as if expecting his master to lash out at him. "So?" spoke the voice from the shadows, unnaturally calm.  
  
"S-s-so wha-what, m-my l-l-l-lord?" the nine-fingered man asked, his voice quivering like a recently plucked harp string.  
  
"So let him go! As long as he's back at Hogwarts it is no concern of mine as to where Potter spends his summer vacation."  
  
"S-s-sir," the man began, the pitch of his voice rising, "I-I-I-I h-have m- m-more n-news."  
  
"What news?"  
  
"H-h-h-h-hogwarts Sch-school of-of w-witchcraft an-and wiz-wiz-wizardry..."  
  
"Yes? What about that blasted school?" The voice from the shadows demanded, extremely annoyed.  
  
The man was shaking visibly now. "I-i-t..."  
  
"It what? Spit it out, Wormtail!"  
  
The man looked like he was on the verge of crying. He took a deep breath and, as fast as he could, answered, "Itwasclosedmylord."  
  
"WHAT?!" Roared the voice.  
  
"I-it was cl-closed," Wormtail murmured, holding his head very tightly now.  
  
"DO YOU REALIZE THIS RUINS THE PLAN?!" screeched the voice.  
  
"Y-y-yes, my lord!" cried the small man, falling to his knees. "Please! Please, my lord! Have mercy on me!"  
  
"Oh," whispered the voice, "you won't have any mercy. Lord Voldemort shows mercy for no one." A pale hand gripping a wand emerged from the shadows.  
  
"My lord! Please--"  
  
"CRUCIO!"  
  
Wormtail's screams of pain filled the night. 


	3. The Portkey

*Dancing around with sparkles* Happy Forth-of-July! ^_____^ You'd think a wouldn't be this happy, seeing as my family just went into dysfunctional mode (brother crying and screaming as loud as he can, dad ranting and raving on the verge of a nervous breakdown, mom looking like she's about to cry), I was recently reminded that half my friends will be attending a different school next year and my clothes are currently plastered to my skin due to lack of air conditioning (note to self: stop wearing black clothes in 90 degree weather). But... I'm as happy as can be! WEEEEEEE!!!! *happy dance*  
  
Bakura: *has somehow been forced into a skin tight American flag tank top and Yami Yugi-like leather pants and is wearing ac sign labeled "eye candy"* Stupid, foolish, mortal girl...  
  
Hee hee... Anyway, this chappie doesn't have the YGO people in it, but I promised the next one will! And, now, on with the fic!  
  
Bakura: *muttering*  
  
Not Your Average Muggles  
  
Chp. 3 - The Portkey  
  
The sun peaked over the horizon, staining the sky spectacular shades of red, pink, and orange. Birds sang their morning songs and the Weasley's garden gnomes yawned and stretched in the yard. Harry Potter was sleeping soundly in his best friend's room; dreaming of amazing, impossible, and dangerous Quidditch plays. Or, at least, he was until-  
  
"UP! GET UP!"  
  
"I dun wanna go ta school t'day, Mum," Ron mumbled and rolled over in his bed. Harry groaned and pulled his pillow over his head.  
  
"Come on, get up," Mrs. Weasley commanded as she opened the curtains. "You need to leave early if you want to get to Japan at a decent time."  
  
The two teens groaned, let out a few whines, and drew their covers up over their heads to block the light. The red-haired woman glared demonically at them.  
  
"Alright, fine then. Have it your way." She raised her wand, "Accio blankets!"  
  
It was a warm, summer morning, but Harry still felt a blanket of cold replace to warm one that had been magically whisked away from him. He actually heard Ron yelp.  
  
"Mum, no..." The redhead cried; curling up in a ball. Harry let out yet another groan and sat up.  
  
"Good to you're awake, Harry," Mrs. Weasley smiled at him. "Get dressed and come down stairs. You'll have to eat breakfast on the way; you're running a bit late. And that goes for you, too, Ron." Harry glanced over at his friend, who was sitting up in bed and looking around the room dumbly.  
  
"So, how are we getting to Japan?" He asked him as he pulled clothes out of his trunk.  
  
"Dad said something about a portkey," Ron told him as he pulled a T-shirt over his head. "I think the Ministry's gonna provide us with one or something..."  
  
~*~  
  
"So why exactly are we going to Japan?" Harry asked as they trudged across the field at the back of the Weasley's property. He was extremely tired, but he thought he was doing better than the Weasley boys were: Ron was slightly cross-eyed and kept stumbling over his feet and the twins looked like they were sleepwalking.  
  
"Well, I have a pen pal over in Japan," Mr. Weasley explained. "He's a ministry wizard I meet a couple of years ago. His name is Seikei Hakuseki." Mr. Weasley paused for a moment. "I think I pronounced that right...  
  
"Anyway, the Japanese Ministry of Magic has been having a lot of problems with unidentified magic. Very dark and powerful magic it is, too. Seikei has a bit of a hunch that it has something to with muggle artifacts, though. That's where I come in. Most of the ministry thinks he's mad and he, working in the misuse of magic department, isn't exactly sure how to prove it. He's not used to tracking down muggle artifacts, you see.  
  
"So he asked me for help. He convinced the Ministry to allow us to travel to Japan for free under the pretense that we need a 'relaxing relief from the shock of Hogwarts being closed'." I think they're providing us with free hotel accommodations, too..."  
  
They had reached the end of the field and now stood on the edge of a pleasant looking forest. Due drops twinkled as the sunlight danced across them.  
  
"The portkey s'posed to be somewhere around here, right?" George asked with a yawn. Mr. Weasley nodded. "Great..."  
  
"So why aren't Ginny and Mrs. Weasley coming? And what about Hermione?" Harry inquired as he peered though a bush, searching for a piece of trash or junk the portkey would have taken the form of.  
  
Mr. Weasley looked up from the grass he was poking through and answered, "First, Ginny's going to be spending the summer at friends house and Molly isn't coming because she has a book club to attend to." He dropped his voice and leaned closer to Harry. "But if ask me, it's because of a bad run in she had with a Japanese wizard once." He cleared his throat and went back to looking through the grass. "Anyway, Hermione should join us via portkey tomorrow. Something about a family reunion..."  
  
"Dad, I think I found it," Ron called from his position by a very twisted tree.  
  
Harry, Mr. Weasley, and the twins gathered around him. He was standing next to what looked like a broken and smashed stopwatch dangling from on of the tree's branches. "On the count of three," Mr. Weasley directed. "One... two... THREE!"  
  
Five hands shot out and touched the stopwatch in unison, and Harry instantly felt a tug behind his navel. Next thing he new, he was being tugged through the air by the broken, but magical, device; his finger felt as though it had been glued to it. The trip was longer than the one he had taken to the Quidditch World Cup, and Harry was slightly surprised when his feet were suddenly back on the ground. Not so surprised, though, as Ron seemed to be for he fell into George, who fell into Fred, who fell into Mr. Weasley.  
  
A voice behind them chuckled and said, with a strong Japanese accent, "What better a way to enter Domino City than to actually play dominos, ne, Arthur- kun?"  
  
"Seikei!" Mr. Weasley cried happily as he got to feet. He started to hold out his hand, but decided against it and instead gave a small bow. Seikei chuckled again, returning the bow.  
  
Harry looked around the room they were in. The floor was very squishy and the lower half of three of the walls were padded. The forth wall was cover in labeled drawers. The labels were written in Japanese, though, so he had no idea what they said. One sign, however, he could read. It was hanging on the door and, although it too was written in Japanese, the word "portkey" was written beneath it in English. Harry guessed the padding was for wizards like Ron.  
  
Through the opened door, Harry observed hundreds of Japanese witches and wizards bustling about in a huge marble room with even more doors lining the walls. A large fountain, much like the one in his homeland's Ministry, was placed in the center. Only this one featured a wizard and a witch perched on top of a centaur with a house elf. Harry turned his attention to Seikei Hakuseki.  
  
The man was very friendly looking. He was short and slightly chubby with long, surprisingly slim, fingers. His hair was died a very dark shade of blue and was almost as messy as Harry's. A pair of dark eyes twinkled at them from under his baseball cap.  
  
"Here, take these," Seikei said, holding out what looked like bluish-silver dog tags. Upon further examination, Harry found that they each had the letters "JELI" stamped across them. "You'll need them. Not anybody around here speaks as good English as I are."  
  
Harry tried not to laugh.  
  
See? Short. Only like 1160 words... So I figured I'd have reviewer responses. Oh yes, and I forgot. Brownies to all the reviewers! *Passes out brownies*  
  
Bakura: You made those from a mix, right?  
  
Yeah.  
  
Bakura: Good. *To the reviewers* Those should be safe.  
  
*Glares at Bakura*  
  
Bulan-Chan - The reason why I'm writing this is because I got kind of tired of reading about Yugi, Ryou, and Malik (and occasionally Seto and others) getting letters, wondering what to do (and Bakura usually threatening to "punish" his hikari if it turns out to be a prank), and then eventually running of to England and making friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione... It gets kind of repetitive. -_-;; So I thought, "What excuse can I use to get Harry over to Japan" and... tada! This fic is born! THE YGO PEEPS SHALL NOT GO TO HOGWARTS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YGO/HP HISTORY!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  
  
Bakura: O__O;;  
  
Sarah - Humorous? Well... for once in my life I'm NOT trying to put humor into my story, but... that sort of thing tends to leak out when I write. ^_^ *sweat drop*  
  
DarkSpellCaster - *sweat drop* Well... no one's ever said "gadzooks" about my writing before... Congrats! *hands you an award*  
  
Sarith McGregor - Confused, eh? Well... to tell you the truth, I'm making half of this up as I go along. (In fact, I completely forgot that Hermione was going with them, too. So I just said she was at a family reunion. ^_^;;)  
  
Anime no Megami - That's right! All authoresses have multiple bishies! MUHAHAHA!!!  
  
Bakura: But my are you picking on ME?!  
  
Oh, cheer up. I might trade you in for Malik or Yami in a few chapters...  
  
Bakura: YES!  
  
Koko Kung - Don't worry about it. That's basically how a feel about YGO half the time... (4kids screwed it up I tell you! I CANNOT TRUST THEM!!)  
  
Kahtiihma - WHAT?! I checked over that chapter like five times! Ergh... *bangs head against wall*  
  
And finally, to Sachi-chan and Fayore... THANK YOU FOR THE INFO!! *hands both of you giant cookies* And, no, Bakura. I didn't bake them; I bought them. They're guaranteed to have sugar.  
  
Ja ne! ^_~ 


	4. Malik Ishtar

*Staring horrified and open mouthed at the wall*  
  
Bakura: Don't mind her; she just realized as her little brother watched "Pokemon: The First Movie" that the pharaoh shares his dub voice with that of the giant mutant kangaroo mouse of a pokemon Mewtwo. So, since she's currently in shock... I'm in charge of the A/N! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! *stares around at the readers* You all suck! Go away, stop reading! WE HATE YOU!!  
  
*A large rock falls from the sky, narrowly missing Bakura*  
  
Bakura: O____O;; *cough, cough* Anyway, Enasni will probably kill me if I don't do this, so... Today the reviewers get... uh... *looks around the room* Whatever they want... out of Enasni's trash! Hmm... let's see... *pears into trashcan* You can choose from... uh... unraveled yarn, yellow thread, two-year-old homework, random pieces of broken plastic, a few of Enasni's brother's action figures, a paper on DNA identification that girl had for God-knows-why, a couple lame pokemon cards, a mechanical pencil without lead, a note from the library, one of those annoying "Don't Miss an Issue" pieces of paper you get out of Shonen Jump with a picture of pharaoh no baka on it... and... uh... WHAT THE?! *stares at trashcan* A BEWD CARD?!! Why'd she throw THAT away?! *shoves it into his pocket* MINE! Anyway... this would have been up yesterday, but Enasni's brother stole all her cards and she spent a long time chasing him around and searching through his cards trying to get them back... I think she stole of his too... If I was the pharaoh I'd probably rant about how she disgraced the hear of the cards, but being a thief myself... Good job! *pats Enasni on the back*  
  
*slightly dazed* He was my favorite character... evil 4kids... YAMI!  
  
Not your Average Muggles  
  
Chapter 4 - Malik Ishtar  
  
"Okay, I'll take this bed, George can have this bed, and Harry and Dad can have the beds in the other room," Fred directed. "Ron can sleep in the sleeping bag."  
  
"HEY!"  
  
"Now, now, boys," Said Mr. Weasley. "The other room is for the girls, which is just Hermione now." The younger wizards stared at him. "Yes, yes, I know. Fred, George, you'll have to share a bed. Ron and Harry can have the other bed, and I'LL take the sleeping bag. It'll give me a better view of those plugs..."  
  
The wizards, to the Weasley boy's horror, were not staying in the wizarding world. The Ministry had refused to pay a lot of money on "tourists" so they were stuck with two rooms (each with two double beds, a refrigerator, and a microwave, and a small TV somehow crammed into them) in muggle hotel. The Weasley were extremely confused by the electrical appliances. ("We're supposed to keep our food in THAT?" "How can a box heat things up?" and "The artist did a very good job on this painting... very realistic... but why did they mount it on a metal box?" were just a few of the comments.)  
  
On a lighter note, the hotel promised Belgium waffles.  
  
"Well..." Mr. Weasley gazed around the room. "I'll go fish the sleeping bag out and we can have a good night's rest!" Again, the boys stared at him. "Time difference." He added knowingly.  
  
Harry had a very hard time getting to sleep. He kept getting up to go to the bathroom (though he didn't really need to) just to have something to do. He suspected Ron was really asleep either, because he keep tossing and turning; making noises that sounded suspiciously like "damn time difference."  
  
On the other hand, Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley somehow managed to get to sleep. Fred told Harry (after about two hours of sleep) over waffles the next morning that he and his twin had used a sleeping potion. Harry wasn't sure about Mr. Weasley, though.  
  
"I have to go meet Seikei-kun," The balding man announced after breakfast. "You four meet us at his office at noon, Hermione should be arriving at about that time."  
  
"What are we supposed to do four the next three and a half hours, then?" George demanded.  
  
"Oh, I don't know," his father replied absent-mindedly. "Just go look around the city..." and with that, he wondered of to their room so that he could Disapparate in peace.  
  
They did not spend the next three and a half hours looking around the city. Ron had discovered a video game in the lobby and Harry could not drag him away from it. There was no chance of him running out of money, either, because the old man in charge of the front desk kept giving him quarters, apparently quiet amused.  
  
Harry might have left Ron behind. But he didn't want to go out alone and the twins had discovered the vending machines and were busy trying to steal candy bars from it. So Harry spent the morning wondering why the Ministry thought that these people could survive in the muggle world.  
  
"Just-one-more-level." Ron muttered when Harry informed him they were ten minutes late to meeting Mr. Weasley. Harry unplugged the machine.  
  
"HEY!" But that was the only complaint Ron made.  
  
Between them, Harry and Ron manage to pull the twins away from the vending machine ("Kit-kat?" George offered) and out onto the street. They stared around for a moment before Ron voiced the question they had all been wondering.  
  
"So... anyone remember how to get to the Ministry?"  
  
A few minutes of argument passed. They finally all came to the agreement that the entrance was through a dumpster and that they had no idea where the dumpster was. George claimed that the dumpster was green with a yellow star on the top, but Harry wasn't sure of this.  
  
At any rate, half past noon found the four boys wondering around Domino, peering into alleys.  
  
"What about that one?" Harry asked, pointing out a dumpster that looked as though a giant rat had come through and gnawed on it. "It's green..."  
  
"Nah," Fred replied. "It doesn't have a star. Besides, I don't think the one we came out of was that-er-broken."  
  
Ron sighed and looked toward the cloudless sky. "Kami-sama, if you do exist, you'll give us a sign! Where is the dumpster?" There was a pause. Ron turned to Harry. "Why must my life be so difficult?"  
  
George snorted. "Really, Ron. Why would Kami-sama look toward us? Past experiences show that the fates hate us."  
  
Ron sighed again. "We're NEVER going to find--"  
  
"Can I help you?"  
  
They whirled around to see a very pale boy with snow-white that grew past his shoulders. He was wearing a white and blue striped shirt and had the most gentle and caring chocolate brown eyes Harry had ever seen.  
  
"Gomen," the boy apologized. "Demo... I couldn't help but over hear. You're looking for something?" His voice was sweet ad soft.  
  
"Hai," Harry answered.  
  
"A green dumpster with a yellow star painted on the top," Fred told him. The boy raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I dumped my little brothers cards in there," George added, patting Ron one the head (with a bit of difficulty; Ron was a lot taller than he was). "He wants them back. Don't you, ickle Ronnikins?" Ron scowled.  
  
George had meant Exploding Snap cards, but the boy assumed he meant Duel Monster cards. "Well..." he pondered for a moment. Did he know of a green dumpster? He was never one to pay attention to such details.  
  
//Two streets over,// a voice in the back of his head told him. It was deeper then the white haired boy's and carried a slightly harsh note to it.  
  
//Yami...?//  
  
//Trust me. I know these things.//  
  
//But how?//  
  
There was a slight snort. //Do you think I just sit in my soul room twiddling my thumbs at night?// The boy inwardly sweat dropped.  
  
Harry waited as the boy thought. Or, so Harry assumed he was doing. His eyes were curiously blank though...  
  
"Two streets over," The boy pointed. There was a pause in which his eyes went blank again before he added, "There should be a small alley between to shabby looking apartment buildings. It's in there with a bunch of other dumpsters."  
  
"Arigato!" The wizards called in unison as they headed off.  
  
//They should be addressing you, yami,// The pale boy, Ryou Bakura, informed his darker half. //You're the one who knew the way.//  
  
Bakura gave another small snort, but made no comment. He had cooled down considerably since he had first meet his hikari, but he'd rather not be thought of as a "nice guy."  
  
'But still...' he thought to himself, 'what did those kids REALLY want with that old dumpster?// He doubted that one of the redheads had really chucked some cards in it and there was still that one little fact he had neglected to tell his light.  
  
There reason he had been over there; the reason he remembered where that dumpster was that he had felt a strange magical aurora coming from it.  
  
~*~  
  
Sure enough, the dumpster the young wizards had wanted was two streets over. They had opened it up and crawled inside, only to find they had no idea how to get from there to the Ministry. They were positive they were in the right spot, though, because as soon as they had scrambled in a mean looking old wizard had popped up and exited the dumpster.  
  
Harry now wished they had tried harder to get him to talk to them.  
  
"Exploding Snap, Harry?" Ron offered, producing a deck of cards from his pocket.  
  
"Well," Said Fred raising an eyebrow, "and least now we don't have to lie."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ron asked, confused.  
  
"He means we didn't lie to that kid," George replied. Snatching the cards from Ron's hands he called, "FIFTY-TWO CARD PICK UP!" and threw them into the air.  
  
It was a lot more interesting to play "fifty-two card pick up" with exploding snap cards because as you gathered the cards they self-destruct causing you to either drop them again or scorch yourself.  
  
They gave up collecting the spontaneously combusting cards after Fred nearly blew off his fingers and returned to staring off into space wondering why the Ministry had made itself so hard to get into.  
  
Just as Harry was beginning to wish for a hamburger then who should appear but Hermione Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Seikei Hakuseki.  
  
"There you are!" Mr. Weasley cried. "Why didn't you come through?"  
  
They exchanged looks and Harry said, "We didn't know how."  
  
Mr. Weasley blinked. Twice. "You... didn't know?"  
  
They shook their heads. Hermione rolled her eyes.  
  
"Really, now. It says so right there." She pointed to the lid of the dumpster, which was opened to let in the cool breeze out side.  
  
Harry, Ron, Fred, and George stared at it. Quiet clearly, so that it was impossible to miss, were the words, "Knock twice to enter."  
  
How could they have been so stupid?  
  
"You really ought to pay more attention," Hermione told them as Seikei chuckled.  
  
"That's a nice hello," Ron replied sarcastically. "Not even a 'how was your summer?' or a 'I can't believe they closed Hogwarts!' Sheesh..."  
  
They went out to lunch at a place called "Burger World" after which Harry, Ron, and Hermione retreated to the hotel while Mr. Weasley and Seikei went back to the Ministry and Fred and George left to go find the "Japanese equivalent of Diagon Alley."  
  
"You're real lucky, Hermione," Ron grumbled as he carried both her bags down the hall to their rooms. "You get a room all to yourself. And it's bigger too!" he added as she unlocked and opened the door.  
  
Hermione strolled across the room and opened the door connecting the two rooms. "I don't think it's bigger," she said as she peered though it. "It just seems like that because yours has more stuff."  
  
"So?" Ron huffed.  
  
Harry sighed. He could sense one of their infamous fights starting. "C'mon guys. I want to see more of Domino than just the alleys."  
  
Ron and Hermione glared at each other, but didn't object. They exited the room and, which Ron and Hermione still glaring at each other, trudged out into the streets. They had barely gone six feet when Hermione, to busy glaring to pay much attention, collided with someone coming in the opposite direction.  
  
"Oh, gomen nasai!" She yelped, taking a step back from the boy she had just nearly knocked over.  
  
"No biggy," he answered, brushing himself off. "I should have been paying more attention."  
  
He was a tall and about their age. His was a light brown and his and he had lavender eyes, which, amazingly, were the exact same color as his shirt. But it wasn't this or the long hair golden or the insane amount of jewelry he was wearing that surprised Harry. No; it was something else. A feeling Harry got from him... Harry didn't know how to describe it. It was different... and yet... familiar.  
  
"So," the boy interrupted his thoughts. "Are you staying here?" He japed his thumb in the direction of the hotel.  
  
"Yeah," Ron answered. "It's a bit crowded, though..." he added in a mumble, sending Hermione a look.  
  
"Cool," the boy grinned, "So am I. By the way, my name's Malik Ishtar."  
  
"Harry Potter." It was such a relief to be able to introduce himself without having people stare at his forehead.  
  
"Ron Weasley."  
  
"Hermione Granger. How long are you staying here, Malik?"  
  
Malik shrugged. "A year or so, but not all at this stupid hotel. We're renting an apartment, but somehow they screwed up our reservations so now we're stuck here for a couple weeks..." He made a face.  
  
Hermione laughed. Harry couldn't why though; he felt sorry for Malik. But the Egyptian boy grinned back at her.  
  
"How long are you staying?" Malik wanted to know.  
  
"A month or two," Hermione answered. Malik stared at her.  
  
"A MONTH or TWO?!"  
  
"Yeah, well," Ron retorted, "it's being paid for."  
  
Malik sweat dropped.  
  
"We were expecting something... nicer," Harry explained.  
  
"Whatever," Malik waved his hand dismissively. "How about a tour of Domino? I now the place pretty well..."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
I know this is kind of an odd place too stop, but I just wanted to update. ^_^;; Anyway, I've been reading Skyla Doragono's YGO/HP crossover and I've kinda become a Malik/Hermione fan, so... Who wants Malik/Hermione? Raise your hands and review! 


	5. Muggle Magic

Alright, so Malik/Hermione wasn't a very popular couple... *sweat drop* I personally thought they looked very cute together... Most people either didn't like it, didn't care, or didn't like romance period, so Hermione is stuck with a boyfriend who can't pronounce her name.  
  
Krum: Hey!  
  
I thought about it for a while and decided that the story would flow better (and be easier to write) without romance, so sorry to all those people who wanted it! If you're lucky I'll accidentally make an innocent conversation look like flirting, but don't count on it.  
  
*gives out ice cream to the reviewers* YAY! I almost have fifty reviews and it's only the fifth chapter! ^_________________________________^ And, yes, I realize I make a lot of typos. I swear I read over all the chapters AT LEAST five times, but, y'know, I'm a typo-ish person. You see my papers for school. They'll have things like "I LOVED this story! You're a very good writer!!" and "Wow! Very descriptive and interesting!" written on them, but then they'll have a big "minus 10" or something written under them for typos... -_-;; I'd go back and fix them, but I'm writing this on a laptop and it's a HUGE pain to transfer them to the family computer to post... I appreciate you pointing them out though! Don't be afraid to ask questions about what I meant to say if you spend hours staring at it and can't make heads or tales of it...  
  
Oh, and as a heads up, I'm going on vacation on Friday and I have no idea when I'm coming back. My parents know and my little brother knows and they've probably told me at least six dozen times, but I don't pay any attention and am too lazy to ask. I think it's over two weeks, though...  
  
And now, on with the fic!  
  
Not Your Average Muggles  
  
Chapter 5 - Muggle Magic  
  
Malik Ishtar's tour of Domino wasn't exactly what Harry had expected. He had been prepared to visit museums, historical sites, interesting and crowded stores, a park or two, and maybe a zoo or something of the sorts. Malik, however, completely ignored these things.  
  
He started of by taking them to the seaport and showing them which warehouses were locked and unlocked, how to tell if they were being used or not, and how to sneak into the ones that were. He then took them around the city itself, although he didn't use the usual streets. He took them through a maze of alleys, pointing out with ones were often used by gangs and which ones were used for nothing but to merely conceal trashcans and dumpsters.  
  
He did take them to several interesting stores like Harry had thought he would in the beginning. But these stores were not crowded with tourists or sold things Harry would even consider buying. One even had a display of shrunken heads (Harry doubted they were as fake as Malik said they were), and if it wasn't for Hermione's previous encounter with bunches of shrunken heads on a shelf she claimed she, "would have been sick and ruined that pretty carpet."  
  
"Where did you see shrunken heads before?" Malik asked curiously.  
  
"Oh," Hermione answered vaguely, "a friend of mine's house. His mother was a very cruel person."  
  
Harry left the store slightly depressed.  
  
When Malik declared his tour was officially over and started to lead them back to their hotel Harry wasn't sure whether to be thankful that he had gotten to see the city from a gangster's point of view or call the police on some of those stores (he was positive about a third of their merchandise was illegal).  
  
Arriving at the hotel, Malik bade them good-bye and headed toward the elevator while they made their way down the hall.  
  
They entered the boy's room to find Fred and George crouching over something.  
  
"Whatcha doing?" Ron inquired.  
  
George looked up at him and grinned. "Muggle magic."  
  
"What?" Ron asked, amazed. "Muggles have magic?"  
  
"I know!" Fred answered. "We were surprised to."  
  
"We couldn't find any wizarding shops," George explained, "so we went to see what a muggle joke shop is like."  
  
"And there it was," said Fred.  
  
"There what was?" Harry wanted to know.  
  
"This." George waved a book around. "A Hundred and One Magic Tricks to Amaze Your Friends."  
  
Ron's mouth fell open. "But... surely... it can't really be magic, could it?"  
  
The twins snorted.  
  
"Of course not," Hermione informed him. "It's all fake. But it looks like real magic. My cousin had a similar book at the reunion I went to... 'Look, Hermy!' He'd say. 'I can do magic too!'"  
  
Ron raised an eyebrow. "So a runty giant isn't the only one who calls you 'Hermy', eh?" The girl glared at him.  
  
The twins demonstrated a few of the simpler tricks they had found in the book. "It's pretty complicated," they told them. "Most of these take a lot of practice. Plus, some of them call for someone in your audience to be in on the trick two or specially marked paper or way more planning in advance than any kid would like."  
  
"You know," Harry said thoughtfully. "I should get one of these" -he fingered the magic book- "for my cousin. Maybe I could get my aunt and uncle mortally afraid of him too."  
  
They all laughed at that.  
  
~*~  
  
"ISIS!" Malik called as he kicked off his shoes at the entrance of their hotel room. Unlike Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley's rooms, the Ishtars had a suite. Malik was sleeping on the pullout sofa in the first room and Isis had a bed in the slightly larger room in the back of the suite.  
  
"What?" The head of pretty young Egyptian woman appeared behind the door separating the two rooms.  
  
"We're meeting Yugi and the gang at some restaurant for dinner, right?"  
  
"Correct."  
  
"So I don't have to endure your cooking tonight?"  
  
She threw a pillow at him.  
  
~*~  
  
Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys enjoyed muggle TV dinners (Harry and Hermione laughed their heads off as they watched Mr. Weasley try to work the microwave) that night. Mr. Weasley was fascinated by the magic book and spent more time flipping through it than eating his mashed potatoes. Fred and George discussed orders for their joke shop and Harry and Ron sadly discussed Quidditch strategies for Gryffindor they might never get to use with Hermione flipping through a book, wishing she had gotten her letter instructing her to buy new ones. It was a bit depressing.  
  
Meanwhile, Malik was having a much more cheerful dinner with his sister, Yugi, Ryou, Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda. They found a small place to eat that claimed to serve authentic Egyptian food. But, as Malik pointed out, the waitresses' accents were horribly fake and even Isis's cooking was better.  
  
He got a good hard kick for that.  
  
Still, it was fun and they all chatted and laughed. The food lay forgotten on their plates.  
  
"So," said Jounouchi, "I was walking to the Kame Game Shop to go meet Yugi and this fat tourist guy comes up and asks me how to get to Tokyo Tower."  
  
Anzu almost choked on the water she had just sipped. "He asked you how to get to TOKYO TOWER?"  
  
"Yup. He did."  
  
"So what did you tell him?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Well, first I just kinda stared at him like he was insane. He asked me again and I said, 'Tokyo. Where else?' and do you know what he said?"  
  
Ryou smiled slightly. "What did he say?"  
  
The blond leaned forward slightly. "He said, 'Oh. I thought that was just a name.'" He grinned as the rest laughed.  
  
"Speaking of tourist," said Malik as he poked at his food with a fork, "I ran into a couple at the hotel."  
  
Isis gave him a look, "And you polite to them, right?"  
  
"Of course. They were pretty nice; I gave them a tour."  
  
Honda raised an eyebrow. "And where did you take them?"  
  
Malik leaned back in his chair, "Oh, just a few of my old haunts..."  
  
Huge sweat drops rolled down the heads on the listeners. They all knew what kind of places Malik used to hang out at. "And what did they think?" Ryou asked.  
  
"Well, at one point the girl claimed she would have thrown up if not for 'past experiences with shrunken heads.'"  
  
"Past experiences with shrunken heads?" Yugi repeated. "Just who were these people?"  
  
Malik shrugged. "I dunno. The girl looked normal enough and so did the taller of the two boys, except for his flaming red hair... But the other kid..."He trailed off.  
  
"Did he look that funny?" Anzu asked.  
  
"Well, no. But his hair stuck up almost as bad as yours, Yugi." Yugi sweat dropped. "Though I suspect it was probably just because he forgot to brush it... And he had this scar on his forehead... like lightning..."  
  
Ryou felt his darker half stir at the back of his mind.  
  
//Yami?//  
  
//What?//  
  
//Is any thing wrong?//  
  
//No.// Bakura snapped.  
  
//Okay. Just wondering. You seem disturbed.//  
  
//It's nothing!//  
  
Ryou shook his head and cut off the mental link. He was probably just misreading his dark's feelings. That was probably surprise he felt... Yes, that was most likely it. That description matched the one of the boys they had given directions to...  
  
He turned his attention back to the conversation.  
  
But Ryou had only been half-right about his yami's feelings. Bakura had felt surprise, but he was also a bit disturbed as well. The boys the had give direction to had given him a strange feeling, not unlike the one he had gotten from that dumpster they were looking for.  
  
But Malik hadn't felt anything. He would have said so if he had. But maybe he just wasn't looking for it. Bakura had only felt it because he, without realizing it at the time, suspected that it might be there.  
  
He mentally shook his. He was probably just going insane. He had been the only one to feel that dumpster; he was positive the pharaoh or maybe even Isis or Malik would have sensed it... that aurora... so much like the shadow realm's, but purer. Whiter. More innocent.  
  
'No,' He told himself. 'I'm just imagining it. I was close to going nuts from being in that ring for so long I made up an excuse to possess hikari's body.' But, still... it made him wonder...  
  
Just who were those people?  
  
Okay, I realize this is a bit short, but, like I said, I'm going on vacation tomorrow and I figured that you'd like a short chapter rather than wait a couple weeks for a longer one... It WOULD be longer, but, believe it or not, I have a social life. =P 


	6. The Waffle Incident

I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY!!!!!!!!!!! I got back a couple days ago, but I had too much freakin' stuff to do!! And my stupid life has been very stressful. I won't give any details, but I'll say that I some how ended up owing my parents 50 bucks, I had to spend an entire afternoon scrubbing dead bugs and filth off the car, the dish washer broke and - because last time it happened I some managed to fix it - I had to spend I long time fiddling with it, I somehow developed writer's block, plus a bunch other stuff.  
  
Bakura: HA!  
  
Shut up. Anyway, the arrival of issue 9 of Shonen Jump cheered me up enough to sit down and write this! YAAAAY!!!!!!!! *passes out pixie sticks to reviewers* Over sixty reviews! YEA!! But be warned... EVIL WRITER'S BLOCK IS UPON US!!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!! *runs around in circles*  
  
Not Your Average Muggles Chapter 6 - The Waffle Incident  
  
Ron stared at the muggle device. What was it supposed to do? He couldn't tell. It looked like giant, metal butterfly with thick, square wings. The "wings" had patterns engraved into them. Eight different circles filled with a grid-like design grinned up at him.  
  
Muggles had very strange ideas.  
  
He considered asking Harry or Hermione about the mysterious machine, but the boy was assisting his father and the girl was doing the same for one of the twins. Ron turned back to the machine, trying unravel the mystery on the grids.  
  
...Come to think of it, that design reminded him of a waffle. Yes, that did make sense. The hotel had said it served waffles for breakfast and it was breakfast, wasn't it? So this machine must make waffles somehow.  
  
Ron took a step backwards and looked around, half expecting one of the hotel employees to come over and explain how to use the waffle machine. Nothing of the sort happened, so he set himself upon the task of figuring it out on his own.  
  
Hermione would be so surprised.  
  
But the more he stared at the muggle device the less it made sense. What had his father told his about breakfast machines? If only he had paid more attention! He remembered something about elekticity. Elekticity usually came from a plug. Plugs were attached to a wire. The wire was attached to the machine.  
  
After careful examination he determined that, yes, the waffle machine ran on elekticity and that, yes, it did have a wire coming out of it so, yes, it did have a plug.  
  
He was halfway there.  
  
The machine wasn't working. Perhaps it wasn't plugged in. Ron took the wire in his hand and gave it a tug. He felt resistance from the other end so he decided that it had to be plugged in.  
  
Yet nothing was happening.  
  
Maybe he was missing something. His mother had always used batter to make waffles, so maybe he needed that. Looking around, he spotted a large group of cups placed next to the machine. Peering into one he discovered it was filled three quarters of the way with batter. Taking the cup, he filled each grid to the brim with batter. Still, nothing happened.  
  
What was he doing wrong?  
  
"Work," He told the machine. "Turn on. Make me waffles. I'm hungry."  
  
He frowned. The machine wasn't obeying his commands! Maybe he just wasn't using the right words. He tried again.  
  
"I want breakfast. Gimme waffles. I want food. Pleeeease?" He was getting strange looks from the surrounding muggles.  
  
This wasn't the way to make it work, he decided. But what was? He couldn't see an on switch. Maybe it really wasn't plugged in and the resistance when he pulled it was because it had caught on something.  
  
With that in mind, Ron ducked under the table the machine was placed upon and began to follow the wire. It led him under table after table. At one point he had gotten stuck in a pool of half-harden and extremely sticky jelly. He managed to pull himself free, but over did it and knocked over the table. Ignoring the stares he was receiving, Ron crawled under the next table and found the waffle-maker's plug.  
  
To his disappointment, it was firmly plugged in so that that couldn't possibly be the problem. Frowning, Ron stepped out from under the table and made his way back to the waffle machine.  
  
A thought accrued to him. Waffles had the grid pattern on both sides, but the way the machine was arranged the waffles would only have the design on one side. Noticing hinges attached both parts of the object, Ron pushed the pieces together. And, lo and behold, there was a button marked "power" next to some sort of dial on what was now the top. Slightly confused, the boy fiddled with the dial and pressed the button.  
  
To his delight, a light on the machine illuminated. It must finally be working! Satisfied, Ron stepped back admire his handy work.  
  
~*~  
  
Malik stared blankly at his empty box of Cheerios. This was, without a doubt, boring. Why should he be forced to wait for Isis to finish? It wasn't like he was going to blow up the building or something.  
  
"You know," The woman in question said, "you could just do it."  
  
Malik glared at her. "I'm not going to apologize! I didn't do anything wrong, so there's no reason to beg them for forgiveness."  
  
Isis sighed. "Really, Malik. At least go talk to them. They might not have minded and they might have. We have no way of telling unless you talk to them.  
  
"Why can't YOU do it?" Malik huffed.  
  
"Oh, I get it," the woman replied with a sly smile. "You're afraid."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
Isis sat back and took a sip of her coffee. "You're afraid. You've just met these people and now I'm forcing you to go and ask them if they were freaked out by your bizarre personality. And if they say yes, you're going to have to apologize. You know what the answer's going to be and you're afraid. You're afraid for your pride. You're afraid of the word 'gomen.'"  
  
"I am not!"  
  
"You are. Maybe not from someone else's mouth, but from your own..." She trailed off, taking another sip of coffee.  
  
Malik glared and her for a moment before turning his attention to the people he was supposed talk to. The black haired kid - Harry - seemed to be explaining how to use a toaster to an older man while the girl (Hermione?) looked to be showing a boy Malik hadn't met the function of the cooler full of milk boxes. The third person, Ron, was examining the waffle iron.  
  
And Isis thought he was strange. Still, he might as well talk to them.  
  
Pretending he was throwing his cereal box away, Malik stood up and made his way toward Harry, Hermione, the man, and a par of twins who had seated themselves at a table. As he stomped off his sister called:  
  
"Remember, they're not completely insane like you are!"  
  
Malik flinched, threw the cardboard box in his hand halfway across the hotel's "breakfast room" into a trashcan, and strolled over to Harry's table. Grumbling, he flopped down into a chair next to Hermione with out so much as an "Oohayo."  
  
Needlessly to say, the wizards (and witch) were a bit surprised.  
  
"Malik!" the brunette cried, nearly spilling her juice. "What're you doing?"  
  
"Joyfully fulfilling the mission my wonderful sister has forced me to undertake," he answered, sounding anything but joyful.  
  
Harry raised an eyebrow. "And what would that mission be?" Malik mumbled incoherently in reply.  
  
"Well," said Mr. Weasley before Harry could question the Egyptian further. "I'm glad that you two have made a friend already!" turning to Malik he added, "And I suppose you've meet Ron as well?"  
  
"Yeah..." Malik answered absentmindedly; "I took them on a tour yesterday..."  
  
Mr. Weasley beamed. "A tour you say? How nice! I'm Author Weasley, by the way. Ron's father. And the two identical young men are his brothers, Fred and George."  
  
The twins grinned mischievously at him and, in unison, chirped, "Ossu!"  
  
"So nice to meet you!" the red headed man went on, "I'm glad Ron is making friends. He hasn't been very social lately, you know..." On and on the man prattled and Malik was beginning to feel that it would have been more exciting to hang out with Isis.  
  
"So what did your sister want you to do?" Harry whispered as not to interrupt Mr. Weasley.  
  
"Oh, she just wanted me to apologize."  
  
Hermione blinked. "Apologize? Apologize about what? You've been very friendly and polite. Well, not that polite maybe, but you weren't really ever that rude."  
  
Malik stared at her. "So you don't mind?"  
  
"Mind what?" Harry wanted to know.  
  
"The tour!" Malik cried. "You didn't find it strange or disturbing or any thing?"  
  
"Well," said Hermione reasonably, "it was a bit strange."  
  
"But," Harry began, "we've see too many odd things to find it really disturbing."  
  
He had meant to say more, but was cut off by a large explosion in the background. They whipped around to see the table that had displayed the waffle irons consumed by flames. A maid was screaming, a woman desperately trying to douse the flames that danced on her crying son's overalls, a man was yelling about needing a fire extinguisher, and there was Ron. Completely covered in batter, the teen was dancing around the flames, his hair blending in with it perfectly.  
  
"Like that, for instance," the black haired boy finished.  
  
After a few minutes of chaos someone had managed to find the fire extinguished and put out the flames, but the hotel manager was enraged. "What idiot cause this?!" he bellowed. "What fool has ruined my property?!"  
  
Ron timidly took a step forward. "I'm really sorry, sir, but I wasn't exactly sure--"  
  
"YOU!" The manager looked murderous. Harry couldn't help but notice how large and muscular the man was; or how red his face was and the way his eyes bulged psychotically. He raised his hand as though the hit Ron...  
  
As if as one Harry, Hermione, Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley thrust their hands into their pockets, hands gripping their wands, ready to provide Ron with magical help. And, Harry observed from the corner of his eye, Malik made a similar movement.  
  
As if in slow motion, the boy who lived watched the man's hand come down, but before he could do anything the hand stopped. The man, almost in a trance, lowered his hand and said, "I am sorry. I did not mean to snap at you like that. Please forgive me." And then, to Harry's shock, he walked away.  
  
Harry glanced at Hermione, Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley, but seeing the confused looks on their faces none of them had done anything either. Then his gaze fell upon Malik. The teen was watching the man's back with cold eyes, his hand still in his pocket. Without knowing why, Harry felt a chill go down his back. He was glad those eyes weren't looking at HIM.  
  
When the manager was out of sight, the ice left Malik's eyes and he turned to Harry and Hermione and cheerfully said, "I'm supposed to meet my friends at the amusement park. Want to come?"  
  
Harry blinked a Hermione gleefully answered "yes."  
  
"Good," the blond nodded, "We'd better leave now. I'm supposed to be there in half an hour. C'mon." He gave a small wave in his sister's direction and headed toward the door.  
  
"RON! GET OVER HERE!" Hermione called and the three trotted after Malik, unaware that they were about to meet some of the strangest people in Japan. 


	7. The Faceless People

Okay, I apologize for this chapter. It's a bit short and it doesn't have the HP people meeting the YGO cast like I had originally intended, but I CANNOT GET RID OF THIS STUPID WRITER'S BLOCK!!!! *throws shoe at writer's block* To make up for this, I added a bit of humor at the end. Or, at least, I HOPE I did. Also, this would have been up earlier but the second YGO box set dealy came... Malik's Japanese voice... *swoons*  
  
Malik: *backs away from Enasni*  
  
Bakura: I am SO glad my Japanese voice creeped her out...  
  
It got better in this box set!  
  
Bakura: *sweat drop*  
  
Anyway, *grins evilly at Steeple333* I actually was planning to do something with that... I just now figured out away to work it into a plot... ^________________________^ *passes out cake to the reviewers* I get the feeling I'm going to hit a hundred reviews with this chapter... *hint, hint* ^_~  
  
ON WITH THE FICCIE!!  
  
Not Your Average Muggles Chapter 7 - The Faceless People  
  
Lord Voldemort was restless. He had always kept to his plans, changing them as little as possible, but now the Ministry of Magic had made unexpected move. They had closed Hogwarts. Now he could no longer get to Harry Potter.  
  
Revenge came over anything else.  
  
He wanted Potter to pay. How could this boy defeat him, the greatest wizard of all time? How could he, after bringing death to hundreds of muggles and wizards alike, fail to kill a defenseless baby? How could one wizard, not even finished with school, deceive him so many times? The dark lord growled at his memories.  
  
Harry Potter would pay, and he would pay dearly.  
  
Voldemort's ears perked up at a familiar sound. He glanced toward the door of the dank room to spy an enormous snake. The snake lifted her - for it was a female - her head and let out a soft hiss. The man returned the noise and lifted his eyes to the door. Transfixed, his red eyes drilled into the peeling paint.  
  
There was a knock. "Enter, Thomas," the lord rasped.  
  
The door creaked open and a nervous looking man with a long noise stepped inside. He looked quite young - in his twenties - and had thin brown hair and drooping eyes. He attempted a smile, but failed miserably.  
  
"H-how did you know it w-was me?" Thomas stuttered, not used to being in the presence of such evil.  
  
"Lord Voldermort has his ways," the snake-like man answered smoothly. "Now, my sweet" -he stroked the snake's head- "tells me you have some information. It better be worth my time."  
  
Thomas gripped his robs tightly; sweat dribbled down the side of his head. "It's not so much information as it is... a-a confession..."  
  
Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "A confession? Go on, I am intrigued."  
  
"Y-you must understand... I had no idea..." The younger wizard bit his lip.  
  
"Get on with it."  
  
Thomas took a deep, reassuring breath. "As you might know, I have recently taken a job at the Ministry." The dark lord nodded for him to continue. "I- it was in the division of Magical Education... I was a School Governor..."  
  
Lord Voldemort sat up in his armchair sharply. His eyes, glinting with malice, narrowed. "You were a governor? And you aloud them to close Hogwarts?"  
  
Thomas could not stand to look into those eyes. They were twin pools of a dark, bloody evil threatening to swallow him up in pain and despair. He stared at the floor and mumbled, "I am of low rank among Death Eaters. I was unaware of the plan; I thought I was helping." Then, noticing his superior reaching for his wand, added very quickly, "but I can redeem myself! I have a plan to destroy Potter!"  
  
Voldemort picked up his wand, "A plan you say? Tell me..."  
  
Thomas gulped and began to describe his thoughts to his master...  
  
~*~  
  
Hundreds of miles away in Japan, Ryou Bakura was dreaming. He tossed and turned in his bed, unable to rid himself of the horrors that swept through his mind.  
  
He was running. Running from something. From what, though? He felt afraid, disturbed. Something was following him, something sinister... He felt a chill on his back and a branch ripped at his shirt.  
  
A branch? He was in a forest. But it was unlike any forest he had ever seen... No, it was unlike any forest he had ever felt. This feeling... so cold...  
  
And then there were lights. The floated in the darkness like tiny beacons of hope. He ran towards them. He felt a slight warmth. He was leaving the forest! But what had he come to? A town? A camp? No, a carnival.  
  
Ryou slowed his pace and walked wearily through the crowded space. Tapping a woman on the shoulder, he prepared to ask where he was. The woman turned around and he gasped. She had no face. Where her mouth, nose, and eyes should have been was nothing but skin.  
  
The teen yelped and took a step back. The woman let out a strangled cry (although how she could do so without as mouth was beyond him) and reached toward him. More people without faces turned around. Each let out the same, hopeless yell and moved toward him; reaching out there arms as though they were trying to grab something he couldn't see.  
  
Ryou started to scooted back, terrified of the faceless people. Then his eyes focused on a young girl about his age. She stumbled toward him, hands clasped over her face as though trying to keep it in place.  
  
"Help me!" She sobbed removing her hand to reveal one of the most horrible things Ryou had ever seen. Her eyes were falling from her face; leaving behind bare patches of skin. Her nose was nowhere to be seen and her mouth was strangely lopsided. And, what was worse, her eyes seemed to be losing life; that little sparkle of warmth. It was as though, Ryou thought, she was having her soul sucked out of her very slowly.  
  
He wanted to help, but the girl scared him and the faceless people were pushing her back, trying to get to him. He backed way from their hands, which looked like wax and bumped into the stand behind him. Suddenly there was a hand around his throat.  
  
"Why do you run from them? The no ones can do no harm." A croaky voice sounded in his ear and he felt breath. But it was unlike any breath he had every felt before. It was cold.  
  
He felt as though he must answer. "Who - what are they?" he questioned.  
  
The voice seemed to have a small smile to it. "They are nothing." Ryou winced as one grabbed his leg; another teared at his shirt.  
  
"Please," he pleaded. "Help me."  
  
"I cannot help you," the voice replied, " in any way but this: beware the roses. Their beauty hides thorns." And with that the hand released him and Ryou was engulfed by the people without faces.  
  
A cold laugh filled the air. Ryou felt his body go cold and freeze. He was losing control and the "no ones" were holding him firmly and yelled their voiceless cries. And then the laughter turned to ringing...  
  
Ringing?  
  
//DAMN ALARM CLOCK!// Rang through Ryou's mind and he felt his hand - not out of his own free will - lifted up and slammed down on something hard.  
  
Ryou sat up in bed. Wearily he stared down at his now red hand. He would have as bruise there tomorrow. How could his yami stand to hit solid objects so hard? He blinked his eyes and turned to look at his radio clock. Ten-thirty.  
  
Ryou sat up in panic. He was supposed to be meeting Yugi and Malik at the amusement park right now!  
  
//I though I turned that basted thing off...// He heard his yami mutter.  
  
//Yami!// He yelled back, //You changed the alarm! I'm going to be late to meeting Yugi-kun...//  
  
//The pharaoh's hikari? The world would be better off without that baka.//  
  
//Yami...//  
  
//What?//  
  
//Has it ever accrued to you that I might actually ENJOY "the pharaoh's baka hikari's" company?//  
  
//Yes. You have a very odd taste in friends.// Ryou sweat dropped.  
  
//If it makes you feel any better,// the tomb robber added, //I am willing to start sleeping with earplugs. Then this wouldn't happen anymore.//  
  
Ryou rolled his eyes and pulled off the T-shirt he had been sleeping in. Tossing it a side, he opened his dresser and picked out a lose tank top and a pair of jeans. He got dressed as quickly as possible and ran into the kitchen. He threw a piece of bread into the toaster oven and marched into the other room wear he bushed his long, fluffy hair in front of a small mirror.  
  
Unfortunately for Ryou, Bakura was determined to understand modern technology. Thus, with out the poor teen realizing it, the tomb robber had turned the toaster oven up WAY to high the day before. Ryou reentered the kitchen to see his breakfast on fire.  
  
The boy yelped and ripped the toaster's door open. In a panic he tossed the flaming piece of bread onto the kitchen counter.  
  
What he hadn't counted on was the counter being drenched in cooking oil.  
  
Ryou's eye started twitching as his kitchen went up in flames. //Yami...//  
  
//Yes?//  
  
//If you weren't already dead I'd be plotting your death right about now.//  
  
//You've been hanging out with me too much, Hikari...//  
  
(Okay, I should really stop putting ANs at the ends of chapters, but whatever. I know the whole dream thing is kind over done, but mine contained A LOT of symbolism... FEAR DA SYMBOLISM!! And, yes, this chapter was kind of weird... I haven't slept in two days. I spent hours laying in my bed convinced a little blue elf was talking to me and that the world would end if I turned off my radio. What do you expect? Be glad I retained enough sanity to type this up. Also, schools starts on Monday; this will screw up my already messed up updating schedule. Now if you'll excuse me, the elf claims chickens are eating my cards...) 


End file.
